The Belly Button of Buddha
The Belly Button of Buddha is the 23rd episode of Legends of the Hidden Temple. Moat Crossing One player from each team had to paddle the raft across the moat while dragging a rope behind them. Once across the moat, they ran the rope around the base of a pole and anchored it with their own weight. The other player made their way across the moat walking on the first rope and holding on to a second rope suspended above them. The Blue Barracudas were the first across, followed by the Green Monkeys, The Silver Snakes and finally the Red Jaguars. Steps of Knowledge Towering over Rangoon, the capital city of ancient Burma, is a great temple called the Shwedagon Pagoda. The pagoda is covered with over two tons of gold and over six thousand jewels, including a giant 73-karat diamond at the top of its tower. It also has thousands of bells: tiny tinkling ones, and one that weighs twenty-three tons. Inside the pagoda was a giant statue of Buddha, with a large jade belly button. In 1824, the British stormed the pagoda, and the soldiers made off with the Belly Button of Buddha and the great bell. The bell sank in the river as they tried to float it away. The Burmese later lifted it out of the river, but the Belly Button of Buddha vanished completely... until now. Temple Games The Blue Barracudas are 11-year-old Jennifer, who is nicknamed "Ricochet" as she bounces all over the place (she is a gymnast), and 12-year-old Tony, who wants to be a cartoonist as he likes to draw. The Red Jaguars are 13-year-old Rayme, who collects sports cards (has 2000 of them), and 11-year-old Katherine, who collects porcelain dolls (Madame Alexanders - has 13). Bells of the Stupa (Climbing Wall) Jennifer and Rayme had to climb up the wall and hang bells on velcro straps. The Red Jaguars took the early lead, with some nice transitions from side to side, but wound up in a tie with the Blue Barracudas. Both teams received a half pendant. Pilgrims to the Shwedagon Pagoda (Bungee Soap Ramp) Tony and Katherine had to climb up the ramp and attach a piece of gold foil to a felt pad, slide back down and try to pull themselves up again. The event started off neck and neck to the top of the ramp. When the bungee cords finally began to get taut, both Tony and Katherine began to have trouble. With much effort, Tony managed to stretch his cord out enough to reach the top hand grip. He then made a dive and managed to stick one piece of gold cloth on the pad. Katherine is still struggling to pull herself up and suddenly lost her grip and slid back down. By that point, Tony was almost back up. Unfortunately, the soap on his knee pads and the ramp plus the bungee cord and being tired from the first trip up all take their toll and he was unable to get up to the second to last hand grip strap. He began to slide backward and wound up on his back. He struggled to get back on his knees, but eventually gave up and slid down the ramp. Katherine had caught up but gets hung up on the third to last hand grip. She eventually gives up and slides back down as time runs out. Tony gets the half pendant for the Blue Barracudas. Shrine to the Buddha (Pulley Pillar) The players had to work together - one had to go down while the other had to go up to attach jewels to the Buddha. The Red Jaguars got hung up in the transition, letting the Blue Barracudas take the lead. The Red Jaguars got hung up, which gave the Blue Barracudas a chance to extend their lead. Eventually the Blue Barracudas won 7-4. They received the full pendant and moved on to the Temple Run. Temple Run This was a very solid Season 1 win by a downright dominant team. Jennifer went into the Temple first, and while she may not have been the fastest contestant, she had a strategy that was very innovative, considering how early in the show this episode was. Choosing the Cave of Sighs as her starting point, she confidently made it across the bottom floor to the Bamboo Forest and did not try to proceed upward until she was beyond the central shaft. She hesitated a little the Bamboo Forest, however, and tried to go up into the Treasure Room via one of the corner doors. When that didn't work, she passed into the Tomb of the Ancient Kings, quickly found the key and progressed upward into the Shrine of the Silver Monkey. After assembling the monkey, Jennifer accidentally went into the Room of Three Torches, but realized her mistake and went into the Treasure Room, where a Temple Guard finally captured her with less than a minute to go. A bit distracted, she stalled a little while until she realized she didn't need to open the treasure chest to open any doors leading out of the room. She made it up the final set of stairs to the Belly Button in the Observatory, grabbed it with 27 seconds to go and made it out of the Temple sixteen seconds later. Even though Jennifer made a couple mistakes, her general confidence and excellent planning outweighed her shortcomings. All in all, a very nice solo win. Watch Episode The Bellybutton of Buddha Part 1|Moat Crossing, Steps of Knowledge, and Temple Games The Bellybutton of Buddha Part 2|Temple Run Notes *This is the first episode where the winning team comes in first in the moat, first in the steps, wins two full pendants and bring the artifact out of the temple. *This episode was the first episode with a solo victory with 2 pendants. The second and last was the The Milk Bucket of Freydís. Coincidentally, the episode was highly similar to one another as was the run. *Jennifer's encounter with the Temple Guard in the Treasure Room with 0:53 left was the latest encounter with the first guard in Legends history. Category:Episodes Category:Season 1 Category:Blue Barracudas Category:Win Category:Solo Run Category:2 Pendants Category:Layout VI Category:Artifacts Hidden in the Shaft Top Category:Female Going First Category:Under One Minute Remaining Category:Episodes with Altered Prize Plugs